Introduction

Welcome to my first ever travel blog! This blog is primarily curated for friends and family who've been harassing me about my trip but I've gone ahead and posted it online for all to utilize. This blog could be useful to anyone who's planning a trip to Japan or just wants to learn more about the magnificent country. My particular experiences occurred in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic which means your experiences may greatly differ.

I've detailed my trip day by day and listed the places I stayed, places I visited, things I learned, things I'd recommend (or not), and things you should know before traveling to Japan. If you have any other suggestions or questions please don't hesitate to ask! I'd love to provide any assistance I can in planning a trip to Japan as I think it's something everyone should experience at least once in their life.

It all started for me on November 8th, 1988 when I opened my eyes to this marvelous & crazy world. My name is Arthur Gwydion Bahr and I'm a pretty average guy from a little wine & beer loving town just north of San Francisco, California, USA. I play soccer, love video games, and can't seem to watch enough anime to satisfy needs (if I had one superpower it would be to stop time so I could binge all the existing anime). In fact , that's what sparked my desire to conduct this trip – I'm absolutely obsessed with the Japanese culture and anime. The level of respect, honestly, cleanliness, and just overall history is so fascinating that I wanted to experience it firsthand. You can learn more about me, my work, or read my other blogs on my profile page .

You're welcome to skip around the blog as you see fit as some days are obviously more exciting than others. You have the option to read the entire blog or you can catch a good overview of each day in the summary located near the top of each post.

Ch. 1 -The realization that a trip to Japan was possible

The actual realization that I could finally go through with a trip to Japan occurred way back in 2017 when I'd saved up some money and things began clicking with work. My future was looking bright and while I don't recall the actual moments that triggered it, I can confidently say that the decision was solidified with a flight search that yielded some affordable options.

My work primarily consisted of managing bars at weddings, office parties, or any other excuse people have to spend money, get drunk, and have fun. The job kept me suuuper busy from about May to August and again from late November to mid-December . Most recently, I had connected with some awesome people who'd been doing “valet” (basically butler) work for the top 1% from all around the Bay Area. Not only did this fit my need for a flexible schedule, it also paid really well. On top of it all I got to meet all kinds of famous people (and see their ridiculous houses!). One of my other many jobs in which I'm insanely passionate about is my coaching. I coached high school soccer with two other alumni friends from early November to about mid-February (depending on our playoff results). To make this trip happen, I decided I'd wedge it between the end of my soccer season and the beginning of wedding season in order to miss out on the least amount of work possible. I landed on the dates of March 4th to April 15th 2020 which would give me a little over 40 days to explore to my heart's content. The planning phase came next! I had to decide just where I'd travel and just what I wanted to see. *I should mention that I also manage 2 large social groups (a little over 25,000 members in total) around the San Francisco area and have produced and executed group trips to San Diego, Seattle, and several other places - thus have some experience in researching and planning for trips.

Ch 2. -The Planning Phase

The real first thing that needed to happen is that I needed to decide where and what I wanted to see. I like to do quite a bit of research before making any plans and feel I'm pretty good at it overall. I've broken This research into five important steps which you're welcome to use when planning any future trips of your own. I'll also point out that I grew up with a very organized mother. When on vacation, we'd be the family up at dawn and waiting at the gate of Disneyland counting the seconds to opening already with an entire agenda memorized of every show, ride, and activity that we'd see that day in order to fully grasp the experience.

Step 1 – Learn the Language

First things first, I knew that English is the 2nd language of Japan but also had gathered enough info to know that it wasn't spoken in many places (especially outside of Tokyo). I didn't need to be fluent but I did want I began this step by doing some basic research online in regards to what apps or sites were the best for learning a new language. This led me to downloading 6 apps and paying for 2 online courses (I didn't pay for the 6 apps – just did the free lessons). I have 2 large whiteboards in my room which allowed me to enhance my studies and practice my writing on a somewhat regular basis. This trip's "planning" phase to the "execution" phase was over a few years so I obviously didn't practice Japanese constantly the whole time since I landed in Japan barely confident with a toddler's vocabulary.

Recommended Apps/Courses (for learning Japanese)

Step 2 – Survey the Locals

To help with practicing the language but also get some insider knowledge, I downloaded an app called “HelloTalk” where people from all over the world can find pen pals to help them study different languages. Naturally, like with any app where you can communicate and have a profile, I threw up a semi-decent photo of me and began to post some random, but rich, content as I messaged every cute Japanese girl who'd been active in the past month or so. I began several conversations and soon was able to poll a number of them about their favorite places & where they'd recommend visiting throughout Japan.

Step 3 – Learn from Others' Experiences

Next, I did some basic googling in search of other blogs from travelers who'd shared their experiences. I found several useful blogs that shared their entire trip plans, experiences, and what they learned from it all. After combining about 4 different blogs, doing some strategic solo research (googling “where to visit in Japan”), asking for suggestions from friends on Facebook, annnnnnnd taking the recommendations from my new harem on HelloTalk, I was able to create a pretty long and amazing list of places to visit . I now had the puzzle and was ready to begin putting the pieces together.

I've listed below some of the more important things I discovered during this step.

Travel Insurance - Travel insurance is pretty important for anyone traveling anywhere outside of their country. It's always good to know what your health insurance covers and what it doesn't. I found it cheapest and easiest to just get some basic travelers insurance for the days I'd be out of the country. After a bit of research I landed on WorldNomads.com travel insurance which is overall pretty affordable and covers most common situations you might find yourself in.

Japan Rail Pass - I also discovered that there is a Japan Rail Pass which one can purchase prior to their arrival in Japan. You legitimately have to order this in advance for some reason and can't buy it in-person once in Japan. pass covers unlimited rides on the largest rail-line in Japan - the JR Line. Some other restrictions associated with this pass is that you MUST be a "temporary visitor" and can't have a visa or be a resident of Japan. Here is a breakdown of the prices.

There are essentially 3 different types of passes depending on how long you plan on traveling. The Green refers to the "Green Cars" which are just first class train cars that are typically located on longer distance trains. The cars themselves are usually in the middle of the overall train and provide better seats and reserved seating - I wouldn't personally recommend spending the extra money most of the time.

While many reviews boast of the ease of using the pass, after digging a bit deeper, I realized that I'd personally be staying in most cities for several nights and not traveling often enough to make up for the savings over the amounted number of days. Conveniently, the pass does include the "bullet train" (Shinkansen) which is the fastest train in Japan specialized in getting across the country in quick fashion. Note that there are 2 specific Shinkansen routes/trains NOT covered by the pass though. I would recommend this pass if you're coming for a shorter trip and will be doing medium-range traveling quite frequently.

SIM Cards - While traveling to a different country, unless you've spoken with your phone provider, there's a good chance that your phone number, SMS messaging, and data will stop working altogether. With an "inactive" SIM card you can still use specific apps on your phone via Wi-Fi. Your basic SMS messaging won't work but you can still use Facebook Messenger, Skype, LINE (super popular in Asian countries), WhatsApp, and so on. The best option is to plan for This in advance and purchase a SIM card that will work in your destination country prior to leaving. Another, more common option is to seek out somewhere to purchase a tourist SIM. This SIM will provide you with some data to use your phone without Wi-Fi (although your phone number and SMS still won't work). I spent a lot of time in Japan without data and it once you've purchased a SIM card you're set to use the data without Wi-Fi. **Some SIM cards even come with a temporary phone number that you can use to contact people. In a country such as Japan, you can purchase SIM cards or more data at many electronic stores. I recommend between 3-5 GB data per month depending on how much you'll need your GPS or how often you'll watch or send video without Wi-Fi.

Suica Card / PASMO - These little cards are a HUGE necessity in Japan. They can be purchased at most train stations but allow you to easily enter and exit stations and not even have to worry about the exact costs of the trip. cash cards "that you can add money to anytime you want. They can be used not only for transportation, but also to purchase convenience store items, pay bills, purchase things from the vending machines, buy groceries, and even clock in and out of work. It took me far too long to get one of these cards but they make travel around Japan sooooo much easier.

Step 4 – Map it Out

Alright, I now have my dates, a long list of places to [ideally] visit, and a budget (I gave myself roughly $ 140 a day with hotel. This is where the fun starts!

Flight: I found myself a flight that was somewhat affordable and was even able to use my credit card points to pay for it. This is a trip to experience an amazing country and I'm super flexible so the initial flight I booked had a convenient layover in Beijing for 23 hours both ways. 

Anyhow, at the time I was thinking "this is awesome, I'll hop on HelloTalk and find myself a cool Chinese girl or two to show me around for the evening".

Destinations: Flight is locked in and my final destination is one of the largest airports just outside of Tokyo (NRT), now it's time to figure out where to visit first. I always love to see as much as possible and I don't mind hitting a city for one night and sleeping minimal hours in order to experience as much as I can. With that said, I had 2 things that weighed heavily on my decision of destinations.

[1] Am I in contact with a girl from there who can show me around and help with translations.

[2] How much of a “desirable” destination is it?

*From the list I created in Step 3, I gave each place a rating in order to highlight destinations that were mentioned more than once or had gotten extra emphasis on visiting.

After weighing all this information, I was able to create a pretty solid map which was broken into 4 Parts. The map shows the first outline of my trip which was later changed as the departure date grew closer and then the coronavirus obviously affected the final plan quite drastically... But we'll get to that.

Housing:  It was now time for me to figure out which hotels, hostels, or ryokan I wanted to stay in. Most places like to have 3-4 days notice if you're going to stay (it's a courteous thing everywhere really) so I wanted to avoid last second bookings which is rather difficult given last second decisions are common for me. Furthermore, I was traveling for over 40 days and a LOT could change in that amount of time.

** cough ** corona virus ** cough ** (no pun intended)

I decided to book some conveniently located hotels for Part 1 & Part 2 of my trip which would cover approximately my first 18 days. I tried to find hotels opposed to other options as I'm personally not a huge fan of hostels (although I by no means discourage anyone from using them – they’re awesome ways to meet people and travel for cheap). I like to have my personal space and be able to avoid social situations in order to rejuvenate.

If you are okay with hostels, I highly recommend K's House which is chain located all throughout Japan and has awesome staff, clean rooms, and super friendly residents. They even have a program where you can occasionally work a few shifts in exchange for free housing.

Japan is also known for their “capsule hotels”, which are literally sleeping pods with a TV and a bed - they're perfect if you literally just want to crash for an evening and don't need any bells and whistles.

You can read an articles HERE that details some types of accommodations you'll find throughout Japan.

I was able to find some cool hotels via Hotels.com (for every 10 nights you get a free night for the average value of the previous 10 nights -essentially 10% off). I also utilized using my credit card points' travel service. It's pretty hard to decipher all the random reviews and ratings for hotels but I'm a pretty simple person so I look at location as # 1, cost or value as # 2, and cleanliness as # 3.

Now that I have some hotels booked, my flight booked, and a decent list of things to see, I was finally ready to focus on my holiday work and soccer season! Overall, work was crazy during the holidays leading up to the trip which isn't too bad as it equates to a nice chunk of change. On top of that, the high school boys were tearing it up and playing super hard for each other. The end of December eventually rolled around and I could hear whispers about the coronavirus while we were fighting a pretty rough flu season in the Bay Area. I have to say that I never get sick and even I caught what was diagnosed as pneumonia around NYE which was a downer but probably healthier in the end compared to what I would' ve been doing that night.

Ch. 3 - Make Way For The Coronavirus

Around early February the virus warnings were beginning to grow and I'd just found out that my flight (originally booked for March 4th) had been canceled. This put me in a tough spot to either make some changes to a large portion of my trip with the gamble of how Japan would handle the virus or cancel the trip completely, bunker down in the US, and potentially stay safe From the virus. The news was all negative at this point and pretty much all my friends and acquaintances questioned why I'd go to an Asian country during this potential pandemic (yes yes a bit racist). Regardless of all the noise, I came I looked into re-booking my flight and actually found a super affordable flight from my local small-town airport!This meant I didn't need to drop the extra $ 37 (one way) for the airport bus to San Francisco (SFO) and could just get dropped off 7 minutes from my house and literally walk onto the airplane within minutes from the entrance. My new flight was Santa Rosa (STS)-> Los Angeles (LAX)-> Tokyo (NRT). It'd be about 1.5 hours to LA and then a solid 12 hours to Tokyo. Little did I know that that was my first win of many to come. Unfortunately, this also meant that my plans to visit China for 23 hours in the beginning and end of my trip was out the door.This also meant that my plans to visit China for 23 hours in the beginning and end of my trip was out the door.This also meant that my plans to visit China for 23 hours in the beginning and end of my trip was out the door.

After analyzing my trip a little more thoroughly, I realized that hotel prices had dropped over 50% during the scare of the coronavirus.  This new finding presented an opportunity for me to cancel all my previously booked hotels and re-book the same hotels for half the price! My second win!

My first loss was the fact that many of the museums and some places that I’d originally hoped to visit would be closed but that was a small sacrifice for what was shaping up to be the trip of a lifetime.

The high school boys were playing better and better as the season came to a close and let alone making playoffs, we actually qualified for state. This would mean a game on march 3rd, March 5th, and possibly finals on the 7th. My new flight was set to takeoff on March 3rd from Santa Rosa and changing it at this point would complicate several newly planned scenarios (and risk the trip not happening). To add even more hesitation, my friends and family were starting to question me more and more about my decision to go as coronavirus news and cases mounted around Asia. I think my eldest brother Braden was the wind in my sails as the person that 100% backed me going and didn't question my abilities to manage the issues or dangers associated (I can always count on him!) In fact, he even helped me out with some extra travel money and words of encouragement over dinner. I'm super grateful and forever in debt for his support as I was able to get out of the US and California before the “mandatory lockdowns ”started.

I found myself in a tough spot rooting for the boys to keep playing their asses off but also feared all the feelings and regret I'd have to endure leaving them at the start of this historic run. I ended up leaving a heartfelt note on my day of departure to show my support. *They ended up winning their first round match but lost in the state semifinals.

Again, as I begin to share the actual details of how my trip played out, it’s important to note that this trip occurred during the coronavirus pandemic which allowed me to experience and see things that would otherwise be much more difficult or maybe even impossible.

Anyhow, enough banter, you’ve got plenty to read about in the blog.

Enjoy ^－^